RESIDENTIAL MARKET Time to review cooling steps, say property players Even though the government has reiterated that it is not yet time to lift the property cooling measures, some real estate consultants are calling for a review of the earlier taxes imposed to rein in speculators, which they claim have an inflationary effect. Consultants felt that with the implementation of total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) to cap total borrowings at 60 per cent of gross monthly income, the additional buyers stamp duty (ABSD) and the sellers stamp duty (SSD) have become less relevant. Speaking at the National Real Estate Congress yesterday, ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim, , felt that it was safe to remove SSD now given that sub-sales, which serve as an indication of speculative activity, are low across all property types. Currently, the SSD kicks in if a residential property is sold within four years of acquisition. Perhaps, it is an opportune time to review the measures that were implemented to tackle speculative buying and selling and whether the holding period under SSD is necessary at this point now, he added. While acknowledging that economists have flagged ample Asian liquidity waiting to enter the market, Mr Lim felt that the ABSD, while imposing a higher tax on foreigners, still penalises Singaporeans who wish to own a property for owner-occupation and another for investment. Sing Tien Foo, deputy head of the department of real estate at the National University of Singapore, also touched on the governments supply-side policy. He noted that the impact of the ramp-up in residential supply - be it on prices or buyers behaviour - is yet to be fully understood at this moment. Given that it has become more costly to buy properties in Singapore, consultants said that there is greater interest than before in overseas properties among Singaporeans. Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) executive director Seah Seng Choon said that he had once come across an advertisement on the Internet touting returns of 100 per cent for an overseas property. He urged real estate agents not to over-sell or confuse buyers where overseas properties are concerned. Source: Business Times – 13 August 2014
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 06:09:06 +0000
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